Love is Blind by Lynsay Sands

Biography

Born in Southern Ontario, Lynsay Sands is the New York Times bestselling author of the Argeneau Vampire series. She has written more than 34 books and anthologies since her first novel was published in 1997. Her romantic comedies span three genres—historical, contemporary, and paranormal—and have made the Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Lynsay's books are read in more than twelve countries and have been translated into at least six languages. She's been a nominee for both the Romantic Times Best Historical Romance Award and the Romantic Times Best Paranormal Romance Award, was nominated and placed three times in the RIO (Reviewers International Organization) Awards of Excellence, and has several books on All About Romance's Favorite Funnies list.
Author biography courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

Good to Know

1.) I started The Deed (my first romantic comedy and the first book to be published) a year after my mother's death. I was very close to my mother and the year following her death was about the most miserable time imaginable. But then I decided I was tired of being down and unhappy, and looked around for something to lift my spirits and make me laugh. When I couldn't find anything, I decided to sit down and write my own. It worked! Emmalene and Amaury's antics in The The Deed had me chuckling as I wrote.
2.) I met my husband in New York in July 2003. I was there because of the RWA conference and he was there on vacation. The first day there we kept running into each other and chatting in front of the hotel, and then he asked to join our group (it was very brave of him. He was the lone male amongst six or seven women, lol). He's a Brit and I'm Canadian and the first two months of our relationship were conducted by phone as well as over the internet. Our first date was a week in New York in September, followed by three weeks in England. He then came to Canada in both November and December, the first time to propose and the second time for Christmas with my family and then to take me back to England with him for New Years. I lived in Northern England for two years. We married in New York and now live in Canada.
3.) I was writing about my husband before I met him. Single White Vampire came out in September 2003 and I took a copy with me to England when I went for the three weeks. I walked into my now-hubby's house to find at least six months worth of mail unopened and stacked up on a shelf inside the front door. When I stopped dead, eyes going wide with shock and asked "My God. That's mail. You don't open your mail?" He looked embarrassed and muttered some explanation about bills automatically being paid by the bank so no need to open those and everything else was unsolicited and he couldn't be bothered. When I burst out laughing, he started to frown and said "What?" My response was to dig out the copy of Single White Vampire and hand it over with the suggestion he read it. The mail thing wasn't the only similarity he had to Lucern Argeneau. There are many more and when he sat down to read the book, he kept stopping and turning a rather startled and even suspicious gaze my way and muttering that this sounded familiar" or that did. I had to point out that it really was coincidence, that I had written that story at least nine months before meeting him. LOL.

Feature Interview

In the fall of 2007, Lynsay Sands took some time out to talk with us about her favorite books, authors, and interests.
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer -- and why?
I've been asked this before and no matter how many times I've looked back in my memory, there simply isn't "one" single book that influenced my life or career. They all did. I devoured books while growing up. I could read two or three books a day and still would if I had the time. The good books carried me away to other lives and lands and made me yearn to write, the bad ones actually encouraged me to think that I could write and get published. They all affected me in one way or another.

What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
This is a hard question for me. I am horrible at recalling names and titles. Aside from that, when it comes to books I'm kind of like a cheap tart dropped amongst a boat load of sailors. I love them all. While I keep every book I read, I've never read a book more than once, there's always another one to read. However, regarding favorites...

For me the first book that stands out in my mind isn't one but many. The Nancy Drew series. I adored those books when young and am pretty sure I read every one. I don't think they have a single author but various. Either way, I couldn't tell you names of authors or even book titles, just that I loved the books and that if I couldn't grow up to be Nancy Drew and have the adventure and mystery in life that she had, then growing up to write such things is a lovely alternative.

Another early influence was Julie Garwood's early works. I'm afraid when I was young I was completely turned off historical romance by some pretty horrid bodice rippers owned by my grandmother on my father's side. Stories from the day when the "hero" could be completely horrid to the female; abuse her verbally, treat her cruelly and even rape her and yet the heroine "loved him" and understood he was just "wounded" and that - with the love of a good woman - he could be tamed, changed, healed. Ugh! Bleck! Yuck! I mean geeeeeeez, how could any woman fall in love with a man who starts out by being beastly? Puhleeeeze!! So, I was totally anti-romance, and then, while I was in University, my sister brought me a Julie Garwood book. I'm afraid I can't remember which one, but she brought it around and said I should read it. I wasn't interested. She pestered me to read it. I just kept shaking my head with disgust and muttering "Historical romance! No thanks!" She assured me it wasn't "like that" and begged me to read it. Nope, not me. This went on for months. I forget now how she actually convinced me to read it. It might have been sheer determination and that I read it just to get her off my back. Certainly, I read it expecting to toss it aside after a chapter or so and inform her - with some vindication - that historicals were utter. . . ummm . . . garbage. Instead, I had to admit it was good, and fun, and the hero was actually worthy of the title. It was the first time I saw historicals as something that could be fun and entertaining.

If I'm going to list favorites, I also have to mention anything by Dean Koontz. I've been reading him FOREVER. Okay, that makes us both sound ancient, but you know what I mean. Dean Koontz just somehow manages to grab you with the first paragraph and hold onto you until the end. And while he's listed as a horror writer, really his books usually have everything in them; suspense, adventure, action, romance and even mystery. I've never read a Dean Koontz I haven't liked.

And then, of course, there's J. K. Rowling. Few people have managed to avoid getting drawn into her Harry and Hogwarts world, and I'm afraid I was in the first wave of converts. How could you help but love a story that was like a fairy tale. There's poor Harry a male Cinderella being treated so shabbily and forced to live under the stairs until along comes Hagrid to inform him he's special. He's taken away to an amazing world, an incredible and fascinating alternate reality where he's famous and where he finds a family of his own as well as people who care about him. It's classic!

The most recent favorite I've found is Deborah MacGillvray. I read her first book Restless Knight before it was published and gave a quote for the cover. I don't often experience envy of other author's skills, but will admit that I did while reading Restless Knight. This author is very, very talented. I am not big on books that spend thirty or forty pages describing a room or scene. They bore me. I've always felt self-conscious about admitting that because someone once said that it was a sign of the MTV age and immaturity and a short attention span. Basically, they made me feel a complete idiot with "immature and unrefined" tastes for not enjoying a three page description of a leaf on the ground. Well, my answer to that will now be that it's a shame to waste so much space on such descriptions when a really gifted writer can give you enough description with just a few deft words that you can feel the warmth of a fire on your cheek and hear the crackle and hiss of it as it burns. Ms MacGillvray can do that. That first book was exceptional and I have since purchased her second historical as well as her two contemps that have followed . . . now I just have to find the time to read them. That's something I'm looking forward to. If they're half as good as her first book, I know I'll enjoy them.

I guess I'd best stop there. Each favorite author or series I've mentioned has anywhere from 4 to 60 books so I've definitely done the ten.

What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
I like all types of music; pop, rock, classic rock, classical. Sometimes I'll restrict myself to classical music while writing historicals, but otherwise anything goes and the music I listen to depends on my mood.

If you had a book club, what would it be reading -- and why?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Because its one book I could be relatively certain everyone would enjoy.

What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
I never buy books as gifts. Book choices are very personal and I'd be afraid to get them the wrong book. Besides, hanging out at the bookstore and picking the book is half the fun in my opinion. So, instead I give them gift cards so that they can make the selection themselves.

Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
I clean my desk and office before I start a new story. I think it's a mental "clearing of the path" for me. I also have a lucky troll that sits on my desk. He's been there from the start.

What are you working on now?
The next Argeneau story.

Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
I sent my first book in to Harlequin between high school and university and received -- not a rejection, but a letter basically saying to make some changes and send it back in, as well as to send in anything else I'd written. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how wonderful a letter that was at the time or that it meant I'd caught this editor's attention or even what that meant. All I really registered was that the story wasn't good enough and was being rejected. In truth, I don't think I was ready to enter the publishing world (grin). So, I got a full time job and went to University full time and so on. It was ten years before I wrote The Deed, sent it in and sold it.

If you could choose one new writer to be "discovered," who would it be -- and why?
Deborah MacGillvray - The woman can write. Everything of hers I've read so far is great, but her historicals are especially powerful. Her plots are solid, characters are loveable and she has a way with description that draws you in and puts you right there with the characters amongst the heather and mist.

What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Write what you love to read. If you're loving it, others are more likely to love it too.
Start with a bang!! Editors are busy people, you want to grab their attention right away, not be tossed aside after they've skimmed a couple of pages. So, grab their attention with your opening and then don't let it go.
Try to avoid the slush pile, query rather than just send the manuscript in cold. Go get a copy of The Writer's Market for this year (they put one out every year) This book will help with the query and help you figure out which publishers print your sort of story, which of them accept unagented, unsolicited manuscripts, and just basically who to query.
Good luck!!

What else would you like your readers to know? Consider here your likes and dislikes, your interests and hobbies, your favorite ways to unwind -- whatever comes to mind.
I'm a very shy person. Really, it's true. No one believes me but it is true.